No games being played, the annual awards awarded, and the free agent signings haven’t started yet. At least we can give thanks that in late November there are some front office happenings in Major League Baseball! In case you’ve missed the news, here are the GM news highlights:
First Female GM in Major American Sports
Let’s all cheer for Kim Ng being named the GM in Miami! The Marlins made history last week and finally gave Ng the opportunity she’s been seeking for a long time. I haven’t followed Ng’s career as a baseball front office executive closely, but the more I learn about her the more I agree that this shouldn’t have taken so long. She’s officially on my list of people I want to meet.
There has been a lot written about Ng’s history making hiring in Miami. One thing that stands out to me is: The Marlins are going to be relentlessly successful with Ng at the helm. She was the Assistant GM under Brian Cashman in New York when the Yankees appeared in four consecutive World Series, winning three.
She served under Joe Torre (Manager of those same Yankees teams, of course!) as MLB vice president of baseball operations, and she counts Torre, Cashman and George Steinbrenner as her role models. Now another staple of Yankee culture, Derek Jeter, has hired her to turn the team he co-owns into champions. If she comes from that culture of tenacity and winning, all of baseball better brace for a Miami dynasty!
Theo’s Next Chapter?
In even bigger GM news, Theo Epstein announced his departure from the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday. Speculation immediately began around what his next “end the curse” project will be within seconds of the announcement. But Epstein himself dashed hopes when he said he plans to take a sabbatical for the 2021 season. Epstein says he looking for “a new challenge”.
If it’s a unique challenge he’s after I’m sure we can come up with a list of a few droughts he can help end. He could join NASA and get astronauts back to the moon! Maybe he could become a Hollywood agent and get Brendan Fraser a new role. Maybe he’ll hook up with Richard Branson or Elon Musk and finally get that space elevator built.
If nothing else I hear there’s a virus that needs a vaccine.
But I can’t imagine the Wonder Kid, who built the Red Sox that ended “The Curse” in Boston and repeated the feat on Chicago’s north side, will stay away from the game for long. Not having met the guy I can only guess, but it seems to me that figuring out how to build great baseball teams is just something he wakes up thinking about. Plus he’s damned good at it! Just because the rest of baseball figured him out a little bit in the last few years doesn’t mean Epstein has lost his touch.
Whatever Epstein does, I hope he gets to have some fun, recharge, then come back. Ng’s Marlins will need some competition.
Also happening in GM News . . .
Meanwhile, new Mets owner Steve Cohen is trying to start the reboot the franchise with a new President of Baseball Operations, but it’s going a little slower than he would like. Jon Paul Morosi of MLB.com nicely sums up the happenings: the Brewers declined to allow David Stearns to be interviewed, while current Indians GM Mike Chernoff, Michael Hill and Bobby Heck are in the mix.
Philadelphia needs a new GM and a new President of Baseball Operations. But for some reason don’t seem to be in a hurry to get anyone in there. Cincinnati and the LA Angels also have openings. And we could add Cleveland to the list if Chernoff goes to New York.
There are other pieces moving around among the front offices, and one GM move here could necessitate another there. So don’t get too comfortable yet. The Winter Meetings, zoom-style, don’t start for another 3 weeks so stay tuned!
Follow Joe Harman on Twitter: @JoeHarman14 and keep up with Belly Up Sports’ latest MLB news here.
